-
A Rumor of War
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
- Length: 13 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Release date: 12-10-09
- Language: English
- Publisher: Audible Studios
- Whispersync for Voice-ready
Regular price: £21.59
People who bought this also bought...
-
Hue 1968
- A Turning Point of the American War in Vietnam
- By: Mark Bowden
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 18 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 57
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 51
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 51
By January 1968, despite an influx of half a million American troops, the fighting in Vietnam seemed to be at a stalemate. Yet General William Westmoreland, commander of American forces, announced a new phase of the war in which "the end begins to come into view". The North Vietnamese had different ideas. In mid-1967, the leadership in Hanoi had started planning an offensive intended to win the war in a single stroke.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Outstanding Military History
- By Stephen on 02-08-17
-
Vietnam
- An Epic Tragedy: 1945-1975
- By: Max Hastings
- Narrated by: Peter Noble, Max Hastings - introduction
- Length: 33 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Performance0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Story0 out of 5 stars 0
Vietnam became the Western world’s most divisive modern conflict, precipitating a battlefield humiliation for France in 1954, then a vastly greater one for the United States in 1975. Max Hastings has spent the past three years interviewing scores of participants on both sides, as well as researching a multitude of American and Vietnamese documents and memoirs, to create an epic narrative of an epic struggle. He portrays the set pieces of Dienbienphu, the Tet offensive, the air blitz of North Vietnam and less familiar battles such as the bloodbath at Daido.
-
The Boys of '67
- Charlie Company's War in Vietnam
- By: Andrew Wiest
- Narrated by: William Hughes
- Length: 15 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 45
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 45
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 45
When the 160 men of Charlie Company were drafted by the US Army in May 1966, they were part of the wave of conscription that would swell the American military to eighty thousand combat troops in Vietnam by the height of the war in 1968. In the spring of 1966 the war was still popular, and the draftees of Charlie Company saw their service as a rite of passage. But by December 1967, when the company returned home, only thirty men were not casualties.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
What A Journey
- By S. Morris on 27-02-17
-
The Things They Carried
- By: Tim O'Brien
- Narrated by: Bryan Cranston
- Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 107
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 99
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 97
Hailed by The New York Times as "a marvel of storytelling", The Things They Carried’s portrayal of the boots-on-the-ground experience of soldiers in the Vietnam War is a landmark in war writing. Now, three-time Emmy Award winner-Bryan Cranston, star of the hit TV series Breaking Bad, delivers an electrifying performance that walks the book’s hallucinatory line between reality and fiction and highlights the emotional power of the spoken word.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
What is a true war story?
- By John on 24-12-14
-
Arnhem
- By: Antony Beevor
- Narrated by: Sean Barrett
- Length: 16 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 211
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 197
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 194
On 17 September 1944, General Kurt Student, the founder of Nazi Germany's parachute forces, heard the growing roar of aeroplane engines. He went out onto his balcony above the flat landscape of southern Holland to watch the air armada of Dakotas and gliders carrying the British 1st Airborne and the American 101st and 82nd Airborne divisions. He gazed up in envy at this massive demonstration of paratroop power.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Sosabowski and the Poles vindicated
- By Amazon Customer on 23-05-18
-
The Killing Zone
- My Life in the Vietnam War
- By: Frederick Downs
- Narrated by: Barry Press
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 49
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 47
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 46
Among the best books ever written about men in combat, The Killing Zone tells the story of the platoon of Delta One-six, capturing what it meant to face lethal danger, to follow orders, and to search for the conviction and then the hope that this war was worth the sacrifice. The book includes a new chapter on what happened to the platoon members when they came home.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Insightful and though provoking
- By Dan on 15-07-17
-
Hue 1968
- A Turning Point of the American War in Vietnam
- By: Mark Bowden
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 18 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 57
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 51
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 51
By January 1968, despite an influx of half a million American troops, the fighting in Vietnam seemed to be at a stalemate. Yet General William Westmoreland, commander of American forces, announced a new phase of the war in which "the end begins to come into view". The North Vietnamese had different ideas. In mid-1967, the leadership in Hanoi had started planning an offensive intended to win the war in a single stroke.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Outstanding Military History
- By Stephen on 02-08-17
-
Vietnam
- An Epic Tragedy: 1945-1975
- By: Max Hastings
- Narrated by: Peter Noble, Max Hastings - introduction
- Length: 33 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Performance0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Story0 out of 5 stars 0
Vietnam became the Western world’s most divisive modern conflict, precipitating a battlefield humiliation for France in 1954, then a vastly greater one for the United States in 1975. Max Hastings has spent the past three years interviewing scores of participants on both sides, as well as researching a multitude of American and Vietnamese documents and memoirs, to create an epic narrative of an epic struggle. He portrays the set pieces of Dienbienphu, the Tet offensive, the air blitz of North Vietnam and less familiar battles such as the bloodbath at Daido.
-
The Boys of '67
- Charlie Company's War in Vietnam
- By: Andrew Wiest
- Narrated by: William Hughes
- Length: 15 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 45
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 45
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 45
When the 160 men of Charlie Company were drafted by the US Army in May 1966, they were part of the wave of conscription that would swell the American military to eighty thousand combat troops in Vietnam by the height of the war in 1968. In the spring of 1966 the war was still popular, and the draftees of Charlie Company saw their service as a rite of passage. But by December 1967, when the company returned home, only thirty men were not casualties.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
What A Journey
- By S. Morris on 27-02-17
-
The Things They Carried
- By: Tim O'Brien
- Narrated by: Bryan Cranston
- Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 107
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 99
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 97
Hailed by The New York Times as "a marvel of storytelling", The Things They Carried’s portrayal of the boots-on-the-ground experience of soldiers in the Vietnam War is a landmark in war writing. Now, three-time Emmy Award winner-Bryan Cranston, star of the hit TV series Breaking Bad, delivers an electrifying performance that walks the book’s hallucinatory line between reality and fiction and highlights the emotional power of the spoken word.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
What is a true war story?
- By John on 24-12-14
-
Arnhem
- By: Antony Beevor
- Narrated by: Sean Barrett
- Length: 16 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 211
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 197
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 194
On 17 September 1944, General Kurt Student, the founder of Nazi Germany's parachute forces, heard the growing roar of aeroplane engines. He went out onto his balcony above the flat landscape of southern Holland to watch the air armada of Dakotas and gliders carrying the British 1st Airborne and the American 101st and 82nd Airborne divisions. He gazed up in envy at this massive demonstration of paratroop power.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Sosabowski and the Poles vindicated
- By Amazon Customer on 23-05-18
-
The Killing Zone
- My Life in the Vietnam War
- By: Frederick Downs
- Narrated by: Barry Press
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 49
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 47
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 46
Among the best books ever written about men in combat, The Killing Zone tells the story of the platoon of Delta One-six, capturing what it meant to face lethal danger, to follow orders, and to search for the conviction and then the hope that this war was worth the sacrifice. The book includes a new chapter on what happened to the platoon members when they came home.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Insightful and though provoking
- By Dan on 15-07-17
-
To the Limit
- An Air Cav Huey Pilot in Vietnam
- By: Tom A. Johnson
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 13 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 3
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 3
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 3
From June 1967 to June 1968, Tom Johnson accumulated an astonishing 1,600 flying hours piloting the UH-1 "Iroquois" - better known as the "Huey" - as part of the famous First Air Cavalry Division. His battalion was one of the most decorated units of the Vietnam War, and helped redefine modern warfare. Johnson's riveting memoir takes us into key battles and rescue missions, including those for Hue and Khe Sanh. In harrowing detail, he tells of being shot down in the battle of A Shau Valley, of surviving enemy attacks during the Tet Offensive, and of a death-defying nighttime river rescue.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great listen
- By Mark on 30-08-18
-
Nam-Sense: Surviving Vietnam with the 101st Airborne
- By: Arthur Wiknik Jr.
- Narrated by: Todd McLaren
- Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 4
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 4
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 4
An honest tour of the Vietnam War from the soldier's eye view... Nam-Sense is the brilliantly written story of a combat squad leader in the 101st Airborne Division. Arthur Wiknik was a 19-year-old kid from New England when he was drafted into the US Army in 1968. After completing various NCO training programs, he was promoted to sergeant "without ever setting foot in a combat zone" and sent to Vietnam in early 1969. Shortly after his arrival on the far side of the world, Wiknik was assigned to Camp Evans, a mixed-unit base camp near the Northern village of Phong Dien.
-
The Best and the Brightest
- By: David Halberstam
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 37 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 31
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 26
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 26
Using portraits of America's flawed policy makers and accounts of the forces that drove them, The Best and the Brightest reckons magnificently with the most important abiding question of our country's recent history: Why did America become mired in Vietnam, and why did we lose? As the definitive single-volume answer to that question, this enthralling book has never been superseded. It is an American classic.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wonderful read
- By Barry J Mooney on 19-04-18
-
Rattler One-Seven: A Vietnam Helicopter Pilot's War Story
- North Texas Military Biography and Memoir Series
- By: Chuck Gross
- Narrated by: Gerry Burke
- Length: 7 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 46
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 45
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 45
Rattler One-Seven puts you in the helicopter seat, to see the war in Vietnam through the eyes of an inexperienced pilot as he transforms himself into a seasoned combat veteran. Soon after the war, Gross wrote down his adventures, while his memory was still fresh with the events. Rattler One-Seven (his call sign) is written as he experienced it, using these notes along with letters written home to accurately preserve the mindset he had while in Vietnam.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Good read but missing
- By Elaintahra on 17-07-18
-
Hitler's Soldiers
- The German Army in the Third Reich
- By: Ben H. Shepherd
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 26 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 34
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 30
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 30
For decades after 1945, it was generally believed that the German army, professional and morally decent, had largely stood apart from the SS, Gestapo, and other corps of the Nazi machine. Ben Shepherd draws on a wealth of primary sources and recent scholarship to convey a much darker, more complex picture. For the first time, the German army is examined throughout the Second World War, across all combat theaters and occupied regions, and from multiple perspectives: its battle performance, social composition, relationship with the Nazi state, and involvement in war crimes and occupation.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
update on how complicit the normal solders
- By paul hadfeild on 24-03-18
-
Adventures in My Youth
- A German Soldier on the Eastern Front 1941-45
- By: Armin Scheiderbauer
- Narrated by: James A. Gillies
- Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 27
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 25
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 24
The author could be described as a veteran in every sense of the word, even though he was only age 21 when the war ended. Armin Scheiderbauer served as an infantry officer with the 252nd Infantry Division, German army, and saw four years of bitter combat on the Eastern Front, being wounded six times. This is an outstanding personal memoir, written with great thoughtfulness and honesty.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
A disjointed story.
- By phphoto on 09-12-17
-
The Chosen Few
- A Company of Paratroopers and Its Heroic Struggle to Survive in the Mountains of Afghanistan
- By: Gregg Zoroya, William H. McRaven - foreward
- Narrated by: Gregg Zoroya
- Length: 12 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 13
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 13
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 13
The story of one of the Afghanistan war's most decorated units and their 15-month ordeal, culminating in the Battle of Wanat, the deadliest battle of the war. A single company of US paratroopers - calling themselves the "Chosen Few" - arrived in eastern Afghanistan in late 2007 hoping to win the hearts and minds of the remote mountain people and extend the Afghan government's reach into this wilderness. Instead, they spent the next 15 months in a desperate struggle, living under almost continuous attack, forced into a slow withdrawal, and always outnumbered by Taliban fighters.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
amazing book, awesome in detail
- By Sean on 27-05-18
-
Street Without Joy
- The French Debacle in Indochina
- By: Bernard B. Fall
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 13 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 37
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 31
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 31
In this classic account of the French war in Indochina, Bernard B. Fall vividly captures the sights, sounds, and smells of the savage eight-year conflict in the jungles and mountains of Southeast Asia from 1946 to 1954. The French fought well to the last, but even with the lethal advantages of airpower, they could not stave off the Communist-led Vietnamese nationalists, who countered with a hit-and-run campaign of ambushes, booby traps, and nighttime raids. Defeat came at Dien Bien Phu, in 1954.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Missed opportunity for the US
- By Mr S.M.R.Plocki on 28-04-15
-
Panzer Commander
- The Memoirs of Colonel Hans von Luck
- By: Hans von Luck, Stephen E. Ambrose (introduction)
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 15 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 237
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 223
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 221
A stunning look at World War II from the other side.... From the turret of a German tank, Colonel Hans von Luck commanded Rommel's 7th and then 21st Panzer Division. El Alamein, Kasserine Pass, Poland, Belgium, Normandy on D-Day, the disastrous Russian front - von Luck fought there with some of the best soldiers in the world. German soldiers. Awarded the German Cross in Gold and the Knight's Cross, von Luck writes as an officer and a gentleman.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Shame he was on the wrong side
- By R on 27-08-14
-
19 Minutes to Live
- Helicopter Combat in Vietnam
- By: Lew Jennings
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3
Over 12,000 helicopters were used in the Vietnam War, which is why it became known as "The Helicopter War". Almost half of the helicopters, 5,086, were lost. This memoir describes first-hand the harrowing experiences of helicopter pilots and crews in combat operations, from the far South to the DMZ, including the infamous Ashau Valley, Hamburger Hill, LZ Airborne, and others. 19 Minutes to Live illustrates the incredible courage and determination of helicopter pilots and crews supporting those heroes that carried a rucksack and a rifle in Vietnam.
-
The Only War We Had
- A Platoon Leader's Journal of Vietnam
- By: Col. Michael Lee Lanning Lt. Col. (Ret)
- Narrated by: Alexander MacDonald
- Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 13
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 13
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 13
Michael Lee Lanning's journal of his first tour of duty in Vietnam provides an unvarnished daily account of life in the field. The blood, fear, camaraderie, and tedium of combat and maneuver. Fleshed out with narrative and detail years later, the pages of this memorable book, first published in 1987, show an eager young recruit growing before the reader's eyes into a proud but bloodied combat veteran. Subsequent volumes in his Vietnam Trilogy will detail Lanning's tour as a company commander and his post-war investigation into the mind of the enemy.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Soporoific narration, odd cadence. Good story.
- By Chris F on 16-06-17
-
Walking Point
- An Infantryman's Untold Story
- By: Michael H. Cunningham
- Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 2
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 2
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 2
Que Son Valley is actually a large area of hills and valleys just to the west of Da Nang, Viet Nam. During the 1960s, units from the US Marines and US Army engaged the 2nd North Vietnamese Division in heavy and close combat. Our mission was to keep the enemy from capturing the cities of Da Nang, Tam Ky, and Chu Lai and to pacify the area. We did prevent the enemy from capturing these vital cities, but the area was far from pacified.
Summary
A platoon commander in the first combat unit sent to fight in Vietnam, Lieutenant Caputo landed at Danang on March 8, 1965, convinced that American forces would win a quick and decisive victory over the Communists. Sixteen months later, and without ceremony, Caputo left Vietnam a shell-shocked veteran whose youthful idealism and faith in the rightness of the war had been utterly shattered. A Rumor of War tells the story of that trajectory and allows us to see and feel the reality of the conflict as the author himself experienced it, from the weeks of tedium hacking through scorching jungles, to the sudden violence of ambushes and firefights, to the unbreakable bonds of friendship forged between soldiers, and finally to a sense of the war as having no purpose other than the fight for survival.
Most troubling, Caputo gives us an unflinching view not only of remarkable bravery and heroism but also of the atrocities committed in Vietnam by ordinary men so numbed by fear and desperate to survive that their moral distinctions had collapsed.
More than a statement against war, Caputo's memoir offers readers today a profoundly visceral sense of what war is and, as the author says, of "the things men do in war and the things war does to men".
More from the same
What members say
Average customer ratings
Overall
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
5 Stars23
-
4 Stars11
-
3 Stars4
-
2 Stars2
-
1 Stars2
Performance
-
4.5 out of 5 stars
-
5 Stars17
-
4 Stars8
-
3 Stars1
-
2 Stars1
-
1 Stars1
Story
-
4.5 out of 5 stars
-
5 Stars18
-
4 Stars7
-
3 Stars2
-
2 Stars1
-
1 Stars0
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- paul medcalf
- 22-09-17
rumour of war (Vietnam through the eyes of a vet )
bought this book years ago but never got round to reading it. great read. entertaining.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Drewberry71
- Scotland
- 14-05-17
Vietnam war classic, a must read for the genre
What did you like most about A Rumor of War?
The different perspectives of soldier and combat correspondent bring a different dynamic to this Vietnam war book
What did you like best about this story?
First person narrative, the detail of each encounter was just so real
What does L. J. Ganser bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?
Everything, he completely makes the book come alive, the best narration of a book I've heard in a very long time, very apt casting, very believable
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Yes, after a slower start, I didn't want to stop
Any additional comments?
A must for anyone interested in the Vietnam war, I would put this up there with Tim O'Briens "If I Die in a Combat Zone" which sadly isn't available on Audible yet, nor is the other must read from this Genre - Michael Herr's "Dispatches" , please Audible add these two literary classics to the library !!!
1 of 2 people found this review helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- John Cornwell
- 23-06-16
The Vietnam's All Quiet on the Western Front. A thoughtful and considered story of a boy going to war and the men he served with
A fine performance of a very fine book. As good as it gets on the Vietnam war.
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Ian O'Pray
- 05-03-16
Puts you in the jungle
I've read quite a few memoirs from the Vietnam War and I have to say this is among the finest. From the optimism and bravado of training and the early months in-country, through to the horror and tragedy as the body count rises and Caputo and his Marines realise this is a war that cannot be won - this book packs an emotional punch. I always feel audio books lend themselves to the first person narrative and the narrator does a good job here. Moments of laughter, despair, terror, confusion, frustration and gallows humour are brought to life. At times you feel like you're in the fox hole with them. Recommended.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ian David Williamson
- 14-01-15
A great book.
I first read this book over 20 years ago and found it fascinating and enlightening. Reading it again 10 years later I found it equally intriguing. Having listened to it twice in a few months I have been surprised at how much more I have taken from it. This is, for me, a work that gives an opening into the soul of everyone and deserves recognition because of it. Highly recommended.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Glenn
- 10-09-12
The Reality of the U.S in the Vietnam War
What made the experience of listening to A Rumor of War the most enjoyable?
The narration by L.J. Ganser convinced me I was listening to Philip Caputo. Caputo's story is believable and frank. It does not gloss over or dwell on the mistakes of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam war nor does it dwell on them. This is a story of political naivety and the reality of being a professional soldier.
As a former soldier of the Vietnam era I could identify with his experiences and empathized with the changes he went through from enlistment to his days of being a war correspondent.
What was one of the most memorable moments of A Rumor of War?
The near mental breakdown when Philip Caputo started to visualise all around him as corpses.
What about L. J. Ganser’s performance did you like?
He sounded like what I would expect Philip Caputo to sound like. He had peculiarities of military jargon down pat. His range voices was true to the individual characters and allowed the listener to immerse themselves in the story and kept the characters different and distinctive.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
When Caputo realises that his classmate was one of the statistics that he had to record.
Any additional comments?
A fantastic listen and a true to life account of Marine officer's experience in early Vietnam.
9 of 9 people found this review helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Kyle
- 11-11-09
Excellent First Person Narrative
Wonderfully read first person account of a young Marine officer in the early days of the Vietnam War. For us history/military fans, it is a nice break from the dry Generals perspective, to what it is like to be a grunt in the field. Worth the buy.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Patrick
- 08-10-12
Want Vietnam? You got it
The events within this book will stay with you for quite a long time. Vivid descriptions of jungle life and what the soldiers felt are told in easy to understand ways. However, I cannot say that this beats "Dispatches." Yes, you do get a first hand account of how hard soldiers had it, BUT, I have to say I felt more "emotion" with Dispatches. A Rumor of War is a good book, although not my favorite Vietnam book. It's definitely worth a try if you're searching around for a good wartime novel. I swear I've heard the narrator on some voice over on goofy blooper shows and commercials. I just didn't feel he "fit" the overall message the story was trying to portray.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance2 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- gerry
- 20-09-12
You have to stay with it
The first half of the book documents the boredom of the war in painful detail and makes it difficult to stay with the book. The second half is much better as more incidents and action occurs. Philip's insightful commentary about the limits of man's endurance and the uselessness of the war is quite unique and while the concepts are far from new, he presented them in a unique & honest perspective of someone who lived the experiences.
I was less than impressed with the narration and, while his delivery was good, the tone of L.J. Ganser's voice was not appealling for me. Others may not share my view and I suggest you sample it first. Finally, the frequent, silly, vocal war noises do not help the book and are distracting.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Phil
- 12-02-10
Excellent
An enthralling account of life as a soldier in Vietnam, told with an honesty that endears you to the author despite the sometimes graphic nature of the details. By his own admission, Caputo wanted to shock people with this book and there were a lot of occasions where he succeeded for me. There is no sugar coating, nor tales of his own heroics, just a decent account of a soldier and his comrades and the events that contributed to the deterioration of their mental state.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- SJS
- 18-07-12
Very powerful. Really tells it as it was.
I was blown away by this book. The text was incredibly strong. Everything was described fully and with precision. It was gripping and fascinating. I really felt that I was hearing the whole truth, because he includes many incidents that sound like war crimes, including incidents that he was involved in and put on trial for. In some ways it was difficult to listen to, but I felt that as an American who was a young child during that war, I needed to know.
The war, as Caputo tells it and I understand it, was a terrible mix of good intentions on the part of some, and arrogance, foolishness and dreadful judgment by many. It is hard to come to terms with the waste and loss. I wish it hadn't happened... yet on a personal note, my sister-in-law's father was an officer in the South Vietnamese army and they fled to the US in the early 1970s. If not for this stupid and tragic war, she, and hence my nephew and niece, would not be part of my family. So I can't wish it hadn't happened and anyway, of course, my wishes regarding past events are meaningless. It did happen.
The narrator was excellent. Something about his voice-- the confident and controlled delivery, I think-- suited the material to a T.
I only came across this book because it was included in one of Audible's promotions. I'm grateful because it made a huge impression. One of the more memorable books I've experienced in the past several years.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Howard
- 19-12-09
Howie
After listening to Mr.Caputos' book I have only one word, which is used in the Marine Corps.
That word being "OUTSTANDING"!
4 of 5 people found this review helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Revindevin
- 31-01-17
You need to read this book.
As most wars are not as pointless as Vietnam was, I would be remiss to suggest this as an antiwar novel. But for just how profoundly useless it was, and the effect it had on the people in the bush and at home, this book is powerful. The writing is superb, the accounts unflinching, and is powerful even to a guy born in 98, where the Afghanistan war is most comparable. It is a stunning chapter of American history that I'm glad my US history professor made us read. If the author is in Heaven, he'll be happy as an angel that his work is still prominent and powerful today as much as it was back then.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ksenia
- 03-12-12
Impressive first hand account
It's a first hand account of a Marine in Vietnam, from the first months to heavy combat action. He served multiple times and had many different roles. It's about anecdotes, processes and psyche. It's diary style focussed on micro developments. Very, very impressive. The fast pace style of writing is brilliantly met by the narrator.
If you are looking for a story on first hand experience in Vietnam, this is the one to read. If you want the overall picture of the USA in Vietnam you need a different title.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- John
- 29-10-12
Couldn't stop listening
What did you love best about A Rumor of War?
Gritty realism of combat
What did you like best about this story?
Transformation of Caputo's view on war
Which scene was your favorite?
Many were memorable, none stand out
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
No
Any additional comments?
None
3 of 4 people found this review helpful